Åkesson blames Islamists for Vänsterpartiet’s election gains

Sverigedemokraterna leader Jimmie Åkesson has claimed that Islamist voters were behind Vänsterpartiet’s gains in Sweden’s parliamentary election, telling SVT that “no normal person votes for such a party”.

Åkesson said he could see no other explanation for Vänsterpartiet’s success, which came despite several revelations about its candidates during the election campaign.

“It can only be Islamists who account for that increase,” Åkesson said at a press conference on the election result.

Vänsterpartiet removed several candidates before the election following revelations reported by Expressen. The candidates had, among other things, praised Vladimir Putin and Hamas and spread antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Åkesson said it was unclear who had won the election. He argued that voters had not really voted to remove the Tidö parties from power and that the situation was largely unchanged from the previous election, with between 40,000 and 50,000 votes making the difference.

“One important reason could be that some SD voters chose to vote for parties outside parliament,” Åkesson said.

“In the same way, parties on the other side have not lost votes to parties outside parliament. Much suggests that V and S have been very good at mobilising Islamist voters who previously voted for other parties.”

Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson said Åkesson’s comments were consistent with the Sweden Democrats’ rhetoric.

“What these statements say about their view of humanity is so revealing,” Andersson said at a press conference.

“Democracy means that all people have equal value. One person, one vote. We are all worth the same. To now question the votes of some of our voters is to question their human worth.”

The Sweden Democrats fell for the first time in an election, provisionally receiving 17.5 percent of the vote in the parliamentary election.

Åkesson said the party would now seek to establish where its voters had gone and why it had lost support. The Oikos think tank will carry out an analysis.

He added that the party had anticipated losing some support after four years of responsibility and compromises. The Sweden Democrats would also maintain their demand for ministerial posts if Ulf Kristersson is given the opportunity to form a government, despite the Tidö parties losing the election.